THE DESTINY CARD
by SECONDVOLDEMORT
Summary: Annabeth Chase is a specialized CIA agent who is sent to a classified mission where she has to stop the wanted criminal group 'The Illusionists' from stealing the world's most expensive painting. But unlike what the CIA assumed, the Illusionists aren't behind the painting, but something more bigger than it. See what happens when the Annabeth's and her love's world collide.
1. THE ILLUSIONISTS

**THE ILLUSIONISTS**

* * *

 _Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere_

 ** _\- Martin Luther king, jr._**

* * *

Annabeth was desperately waiting for her head Mr. Chiron Brunner in the meeting room while her back rested on one of the chair surrounding the large circular table. She had to be nervous as it was her first classified field mission from the CIA. Along with Annabeth, her colleagues Luke castellan, Rachel Elizabeth Dare, Silena Beauregard and Charles Beckendorf were also waiting. Despite of the presence of five people, the room was filled with uncomfortable silence. But, Luke was the first person to break the quietness filled within as he spoke. "So, anybody even has the slightest of idea of what Mr. Brunner is up to?"

All the remaining four of them shook their head with disappointment on their face. "Boy, he is killing us with suspense" Silena muttered to herself. Soon they could hear faint footsteps getting nearer to them. The door creaked as an old man in his 40's with thick blackish brown hair and beard almost covering his chin entered the room. He cleared his throat before speaking. "I apologize to keep you all awaited as I was making final preparations for your mission." Annabeth took a deep breath as it was confirmed that she was called here due her involvement in the mission.

"Nervous Miss Chase?" asked the Chiron.

"I guess so Mr. Brunner" she replied with a small smile. She always thought of him as her idol and respected him since she joined the espionage due to his vast amount of success.

"So" He continued "As said before, you all might be aware for assembling here today. Before I start giving you the description of the mission you all will be participating, I would like to make it clear that this particular assignment is highly classified as well as very dangerous where you, if the situation comes, have to risk your lives. This task is very important. Though your names have been recommended to me by the higher officials, I am making it clear that if you don't want be here, you can exit the room this very moment as there would be no turning back afterwards."

Annabeth was first to respond as without any second thought "I am ready to face the consequences" Now Brunner was looking at the other four of them waiting for their answers. They took a deep breath and repeated what Annabeth had said.

Brunner again cleared his throat before speaking. He used to do this a lot these days. "I think you all would know about the Illusionists"

Her heart skipped a beat as she heard that name. They were the world's most famous group of thieves that held in the first position in most wanted criminals for CIA since four years. The five of them nodded in unison.

"Our mission is to stop them" Chiron said. I looked behind to take a glance of the reaction of the other members. Silena and Charles looked as shocked as Annabeth was but Luke just raised an eyebrow. That's what she admired about him. He was known to act cool even in the tensest situation.

"It's not First April today, isn't it?" asked Charles with a scowl on his face. Annabeth tried to control her laughter but failed to do it successfully.

Chiron gave a smile "Unfortunately it isn't" He came toward her and grabbed a small white colored remote that rested beside her on the table and pressed a red button on the top right corner while directing it towards the projector. "I am now going to give you all a brief description of all the four members of the Illusionists" He said.

Light shot out of it pointing towards the white surface to which all the four members were facing. After a few seconds a photo of a beautiful, perfectly tanned woman appeared on the screen. Her caramel brown hair and dark almond eyes completely matched her face making her look more stunning.

"Calypso greaves" Chiron sighed "First of the four Illusionists. The main role in the team in the team is playing as a hacker. She is highly specialized as computer technologist. She is capable of trespassing into even the most secured files. Much data about her is not known"

He then pressed another button and instantly, the image of a dull person came into view. He had dark brown eyes along with dull black hair. Excess amount of dark circles beneath his eyes were clearly visible. "Nico di'angelo, second in command of the team. His whole family has a criminal history. You might also know about his father, Hades di'angelo, underworld mafia. Unlike taking over their illegal family business, he parted ways and joined the Illusionists of which the reason is unknown. He still in communication with his father and it may be very dangerous if they combined forces."

He again pressed the same button, this time a female having short dark spiky hair appeared. With her electric blue eyes, she looked quite attractive but also intimidating at the same time. To, Annabeth, her face looked quite familiar.

"Thalia Grace. She is the only person out of the four members whom we have maximum information of. Mainly because of her father, Zeus Grace being the former mayor of Stanford, cooperated with us through investigation, to keep his political image up, despite of not willing to help us." Chiron took a bottle behind him on a small oak wood table and gulped a sip of water from it.

"What about the fourth member?" Charles asked with a confused face.

"The fourth member…the leader of the group, the mastermind of all the thefts, the main reason for the formation of the Illusionists, his name is Percy Jackson. He is the top criminal of whom CIA has the least data of"

"At least any facial or behavioral features by which we can identify him?" Luke asked

"Nothing. But, the interesting fact is that he _is_ in the system unlike others. He can be anyone. He is known for the avatars he can change into. You won't even know him but you could have encountered him." Chiron replied without giving an eye contact with any of the members. Annabeth become suspicious as he was the one who taught her that people who lied hesitated to given an eye contact. Nobody was speaking for a few seconds.

"So, you just briefed us about the target's data, what about the mission?" Silena asked breaking the silence.

"Yes, I was coming to that point, Miss Beauregard" Chiron replied not removing his gaze from projector screen, which was now blank. He took a deep breath and started explaining while facing towards us. "We have CCTV camera reports from the New York airport of a person who looks exactly like Calypso greaves" He pressed another button on the remote and a footage appeared showing a girl covering her hair with a hijab and wearing large sized goggles occupying ample amount of her face. She was showing a police a piece of paper which probably looked like a boarding pass.

"This is the only footage we caught of her. She managed to escape all other cameras." He took a deep breath before speaking again."We went through her fake identity and somehow got her phone number. We were late till the time we got hold of the number but we managed to hear a few seconds of conversation with other guy before she destroyed the phone sim card."

Chiron handed them black colored headphones which they placed it on their heads. He opened his laptop and connected our headphones with Bluetooth and Annabeth could hear the conversation of two people.

 _-Do you know the reason why he called us to Boston so urgently?_

 _-I thought you would be knowing, you are the 'smarty pants' of the team, right?_

 _-It's not the time to joke idiot, I think we have another task_

 _-What's it?_

 _-I don't know but I am sure I heard the name fine arts in Boston_

 _-Okay, now I don't think we should keep the conversation long, someone can tap our calls_

 _-Okay, when he contacts us back, I would ask him the meeting place_

As the voice ended and Annabeth removed the headphones.

"I think when they are referring to 'He' they mean to say the captain. What was his name again? yeah Percy" I told them

"What makes you think he is Percy, Annabeth?" Asked Silena.

"You told that he is the leader, so I think it's him as whom else's order they could be following. I don't think there is a fifth Illusionist that is working behind the scenes."

"We can't guess here Annabeth" Chiron interrupted.

"So what about the fine arts thingy?" Charles questioned.

"Yeah, now you came to the point. When we talk about fine arts in Boston, there is only one possibility and that is, the museum of fine arts. Fourth largest museum in the United States. According to our sources, there is a painting of a hydra, the Greek mythological creature whose bidding rage would probably start from 30 million dollars. So, you can imagine its worth. The painting would be transferred from museum of fine arts to the Connors centre, the conference hall where the auction would take place. The estimated distance between the two buildings is up to 20 miles. Auction would take place 23 days from now while the call we heard was 16 days earlier. And the auction of hydra painting is the only major event in 3 months from now. So according to us the Illusionists are basically behind the hydra"

"So…" Annabeth said with curiosity occupying my whole mind

"Your mission is to stay there till the auction is successfully completed. Till that time you people would be divided into two teams. The first team, that is Luke Castellan and Charles Beckendorf would be working as security guards in Museum of fine arts while the other team of Rachel Dare, Silena Beauregard and Annabeth Chase would be working in the Connors centre where Annabeth and Rachel would be working as Waiters and Silena would be a chef. Your work there is to observe the security systems of the place, note down and find evidence of any suspicious behavior in the surroundings and if possible, look for the Illusionists. As of me, I recommend you to find any strong evidence of which would prove that the Illusionists may be stealing the painting so we could stop the auction from taking place…..and successfully save the painting. We have kept this mission classified as we still aren't sure whether the Illusionists are up to any theft. But be careful, they won't have any second thoughts before killing you if you block their success. Am I clear?"

They all nodded as reply unable to speak any words.

"We have booked tickets for Boston and you would be leaving tomorrow night. The envelopes I will give you would contain your fake passports, your respective job applications and other essential data required for you and your mission. You all may now dismiss. And, being the most experienced candidate out of the five of you, Luke would be the captain of the field mission" He said.

Annabeth stood up and starting walking towards the door when she heard Chiron's voice "Charles and Silena, I don't want your romantic relationship act as an obstacle to the mission. Ok?"

She instantly took a glimpse behind only to see both of them blushing hard. A smile appeared on her face when she heard Luke chuckling. Charles turned towards him and gave a glare but that didn't make Luke stop."

. . . . .

"Chiron told me to give it to you, for the mission." Luke said while handing Annabeth small black colored briefcase. Inside the briefcase were a Glock 19 and 3 magazines containing six 9mm bullets.

"Is it really necessary?" She asked

He shrugged "I think it is. Not every day we get a brand new gun right? Anyways, if you need more ammunition, just tell me. I would be carrying two more spare magazines."

"Thanks, but I don't think we would even need a gun. It isn't even sure whether they are after the painting, right?"

"We can't be sure. But if they really are after it, and if we are successful to stop them, we would get a very good name here, and who knows? We can even manage to get a promotion."

She smiled "Ok, now I think I should go back home. It's getting late. Bye"

"Bye"

Annabeth started walking towards the exit after she bid farewell to her friends. As soon as she exited the office, she bumped into someone dropping the documents in her hand and the bag which was hung over the shoulder.

"I'm sorry" He said and quickly lifted all her belongings that fell of her hands. Annabeth tried to see his face which was covered with black colored hood masking his face. Annabeth grabbed her belongings and started heading towards her house.

. . . . .

"Mom, I would be going out to Boston along with Rachel and other colleagues for two weeks as we have some work there. Take care of yourself and call me if you need any help." Annabeth said while biting her lower lip. She felt guilty for not telling her mother about the mission but as it was classified, she wasn't even allowed to tell to her family members.

"Alright dear, but please keep call me twice in a week or I well get worried about you." She replied from the kitchen.

Annabeth started unzipping her bag to take a look at the envelope that Mr. Brunner gave. Everything was in her handbag, except the envelope. "Oh crap, where would I have kept it?" Annabeth muttered to herself.

"Mom, have you seen a long brown colored envelope?" Annabeth asks while searching it in the house.

"Was it important dear?" Athena asked

"Yes, it was very important"

Suddenly her phone started buzzing. When Annabeth looked at the screen, she saw an unknown number calling her. Frantically, she accepted the call and placed the phone on her hear.

"Hello? Who is this" She asked in hurry still worried about the lost envelope. For few seconds, she didn't hear any voice from the other sides, but finally she heard and a familiar smooth manly voice.

" _This is your last warning Annabeth Chase. You are opposing the Illusionists. Back off our way or you would face the consequences."_

"Who is this speaking? How do you know about…"

Even before Annabeth could question, the call ended. She wanted to tell this incident to someone, someone trustworthy. Suddenly, Luke's image flashed in her mind. Without thinking, she dialed his number.

"Hello, Annabeth?" A familiar voice asked which she could easily identify as Luke.

"Luke, everything is messed up, everything. I don't know what to do!" She was at panic.

"Annabeth, please don't panic. Tell me what happened!"

She took a deep breath and started speaking "My envelope containing the mission description and fake passports lost. I noticed that I lost it as soon as I entered home. But when I tried to find it, I got a call from unknown number. It was familiar but I couldn't able to identify it. The voice was of a male, he warned me to back off from Illusionist's path. I think they…..they got hold of the envelope." Annabeth tried to suppress her emotions. This was her first undercover field mission but she messed it up even before starting it.

"Annabeth, listen to me. Firstly, you message the number which called you. I would give to Silena. If the sim which he used for calling isn't completely destroyed, we could hear the conversation. We will try if we can identify the voice. The incident that just happened would be known within the team. Now as it's confirmed that the Illusionists are trying to steal painting, we have to stop them. If Chiron gets to know about this incident, he would surely abort the mission, which we can't let happen. So, this would only be within the team. I can manage to give you a fake passport with another name as a friend of mine can do it. You need to sleep as our mission would officially start from tomorrow."

"Okay"

"Alright, goodnight then."

Relief hit her face as her heart beat slowed down. Luke was right. Now as it was confirmed that the Illusionists are after the painting we they thought, it was their responsibility to stop them. He was also right about her needing sleep after all the events that happened today.

She slid back the phone to her pocket and went towards the bed.


	2. BEAUTIFUL GREY EYES

**BEAUTIFUL GREY EYES**

* * *

 _Ignorance allied with just is the most ferocious enemy that justice can have._

 ** _\- James A. Baldwin_**

* * *

"Percy, you have been keeping us waiting since an hour. Now without wasting time please tell what our next plan is." Calypso said in an annoyed tone while keeping both her hands on either sides of her waist.

Percy raised his hands in defeat as he said "Okay Cal, please keep patience. Let's wait until Nico comes. I can't just start without Nico."

"Uggh! Death breath is getting annoying day by day. I can't just bear him." Thalia whispered to herself. Percy was imagining Thalia's reaction when Nico would enter.

"Hey, why are you smiling?" Calypso asked, also smiling.

"Just think how Thalia will beat him to death upon his entry." Percy grinned. Calypso gave a chuckle and placed a small peck on Percy's cheek. Percy blushed as he felt Calypso's lips on his cheek.

After a few more minutes, of waiting faint footsteps could be heard. As Percy expected, Nico slowly opened the door and poked his head in first. Even before he could enter completely inside, Thalia growled at him. "You idiotic Death Breath, how much time does it take for you to come. Percy was waiting for you explain the plan."

"Hey!" Nico defended himself "I was enjoying the nachos they were selling at the newly opened shop few blocks from here. You know? They are really very tasty!"

"Nico, I told you should not wander around in public too much. It can be dangerous." Percy said.

"Learn something from Percy, Thalia. He is concerned about me unlike you, who growl at my sight."

Everyone except Thalia started chuckling. After a few seconds, Percy walked towards the one of the wooden cupboards, opened them and removed a white colored laptop from it. He typed something in it and turned the laptop towards the remaining three of them.

The screen of the laptop glowed, showing them the painting of a green colored nine headed dragon like creature.

"The Hydra…" Nico muttered.

"Yes, the hydra" Percy said "It is expected to be the world's richest painting. The painting is supposed to be transferred from museum of fine arts to the Connors centre where it would be auctioned. The auction would take place 23 days from now i.e. on 17 may."

"So, do we have to steal the painting?" Thalia questioned.

He gave a tired sigh and said "Actually, no. We don't have to steal painting. According to my sources….. Kronos Grace would also be attending the auction." He immediately gave a concerned look to Thalia

Kronos Grace Thalia's grandfather. Everybody in America knew about Zeus Grace. He is the most successful personality throughout the country and CEO of Grace Airlines, one of the leading global companies, till he got killed by Kronos Grace, his own father. Kronos became obsessed with his son's success and fame and hence, threatened to kill Zeus if he didn't transfer of his bank accounts to Kronos' name. When Zeus denied giving even a single penny to his father, Kronos killed him. Nevertheless, as only finger print and retina scan were required to get access to Zeus' account, Kronos' stole all of his money after killing him.

He started his own company i.e. Kronos Inc. from the stolen money and now, Kronos is America's biggest business magnate.

Nobody knew that Kronos was responsible for Zeus death, except for Thalia, who witnessed the act. Kronos, who knew Thalia witnessed Zeus murder from his own hands, attempted to kill her. But Thalia somehow managed to escape from Kronos and fled away from the house. Since then Thalia was waiting for the opportunity to take revenge on her grandfather.

And now was the time she was waiting since years.

"What do we have to do, Percy?" Thalia asked with determination flaring in her eyes.

Percy replied "I talked with Calypso yesterday, she said she could hack into Kronos' mainframe accounts and crack the pass codes, but fingerprint and retina scan would also be required to get 100% access."

He typed again in his laptop which this time showed the blueprints of a three storey building.

"This is the blueprint of the Connors centre" Percy explained "As you may see in the corner of the first floor is the electrical supply room besides which are air conditioning compressors," He ran his finger at the corner of the building "There are total of three cylindrical chambers of air compressors which manage to condition the air of the total structure. My plan is to load knockout gas in the cylinder which is connected to the Hydra's auctioning room. Once gas is completely loaded, after a matter of few minutes, all the people in the room would be unconscious. Kronos would also be knocked out. We take his finger print and retina scan…and bankrupt him."

"What are the odds of mission failures?" Calypso asked.

"Firstly, we need a way to get into the electrical supply room without attracting attention, for which I need to go inside the actual building and study the architecture. Second, as I said before, there are total of three cylindrical chambers so there is no way we can carry knock out gas in such large amounts that would be able to load all the cylinders. We need to find out which chamber is connected to the Hydra auctioning room. Also, this is the original blue of the building which was planned before construction. There are high possibilities of major and minor modification in the building. So we need to study the structure from inside for which I need a few days of time. Hence, we would be travelling to Boston tomorrow."

"What!" All of them exclaimed together in unison.

"I would be travelling in plane along with Calypso tomorrow night, while Nico and Thalia would be going to Boston by train tomorrow evening."

"No!" Nico cried "I am not going _with_ Thalia. Calypso, please help me! Percy, At least you can travel with me!"

"Sorry bud, tickets are booked" Percy said while Thalia smirked evilly.

. . . . .

Percy lit up the table lamp resting on the corner of the table and started studying the building's structure keenly. Only few things could be understood by him and the blueprints had many complex figures. He needed someone for help who was experienced in architecture.

"Hey, what are you doing Perce?" A female voice asked from behind. Even before he could react, she bended and wrapped her arms around his neck so her head rested on his shoulder. Percy body stiffened on her touch. He quickly identified her as Calypso when he saw her Caramel hair.

"Just studying the structure and seeing if I missed something helpful." He said without removing his gaze from the blueprints.

"You haven't eaten anything since hours. Do you want me to bring some cookies from the nearby bakery?" She whispered is his ears.

He realized that indeed he hadn't eaten anything. Suddenly, his stomach started grumbling and Calypso started chuckling and blush crept on his cheeks.

"You carry on your work, I will get you some cookies" She said and started walking to the exit.

"Calypso, I can buy them myself. Can you just try to find out the number of people who would be attending the auction meanwhile?"

She smiled "Sure"

Percy started walking to the hall when Nico stopped him.

"Percy, where are you going?" Nico asked.

"Buying some muffins from nearby bakery"

"Can you bring me some Nachos while you are on it?"

Percy raised his eyebrow "Where is the shop?"

"At the end of the 32nd street, you will find 'Center's snacks and fast food centre. The Nachos they sell is so much worth eating that you would want to die eating them. Don't note the sarcasm."

Percy frowned "That shop isn't quite near from our safe house, and also it's near the CIA branch, I didn't get any decent place away from the branch except this old house. I already took risk by bringing you guys here. You shouldn't roam around places near that building."

"Oh come on Perce, relax. They weren't able to catch us since years. How come they can be capable enough to catch _Illusionists?"_

"You are getting overconfident"

Thalia came out of the bedroom and joined the conversation "Don't worry Percy, even if they catch him they would just make him rot in a stinkin' cell for a couple of decades and would whip his butt-"

"Shut up _pinecone face_ " Nico interrupted with an irritated face.

"I am least interested to join your arguments, but Nico, be careful from next time, bye." Percy said even before Thalia could retort at Nico's remark and quickly escaped from the hall. As soon as he opened the door, he was hit by hot summer air. He tiredly sighed and started walking the bakery.

. . . . .

Percy walked towards the safe house after exiting the bakery shop, silently observing the people's conversation along the path while facing down. When he was just few feet away from his safe house, he realized that he forgot to bring Nachos for Nico.

He thought to start heading back towards the safe house as the Nachos weren't too important, he remembered that nothing was left to do till next day. He knew he would easily get bored if nothing was left to work. So, he swiftly hooded his face and started running towards the Nachos shop that Nico sad through a longer distance just to spend some time neither than dying out of boredom at the house.

While running to the shop, Percy was thinking about Calypso's different behavior in recent days. Sure, she gave him sisterly kisses but these days she was more frequently kissing him and being more affectionate. He also caught her staring at him off guard. He used to have a crush on her when she newly joined the team. But he kept personal feelings at halt temporarily as his work was more important at that time. But now, he didn't have any feelings forher. He suspected that she was developing feelings for him. The mission that they would be doing was very dangerous and hence he hoped that she would think about it after their theft.

Drifting through his train of thoughts, he accidently bumped into a lady who dropped all of her belongings. When he looked around, he noticed that he had crossed the shop where he meant to go few minutes back and he was now standing in front of the CIA branch. The lady who he had bumped into probably had exited from the building. Being a top criminal, the first thing he did was cover his face completely from the hood after being aware that she might be working for the CIA. But, he still quickly lifted some of the remaining belongings that fell of her hand because of him. From the corner of his eye, he saw that a brown envelope slid off her bag as the loose zip slightly dragged itself down when the lady bent. He quickly picked it up to give it back to her when he read _**544**_ marked from black ink on it. The number was a sign of secret code in CIA meaning confidential. Percy, knowing the actual meaning behind the number quickly slid it in his jeans' back pocket. But, when he looked up at her, he was mesmerized by her beauty. Her grey eyes were what he was falling for. Her golden princess curls were perfect match to her angelic face. He quickly snapped out of his thoughts and started running towards his safe house from a shortcut lane he knew from his childhood.

. . . . .

Percy desperately knocked the door waiting from someone to open it as he was excited about finding the contents inside the envelope he had just stolen. He could hear quick footsteps nearing towards the door from inside. It swiftly creaked open he was welcomed to his safe house by a panicked look on Calypso. Without wasting another second, Calypso pulled him into a tight embrace.

"Where the hell have you been? I was so worried." Calypso mumbled while covering his face at the crook of his neck.

"Hey… I am fine." He said as he tentatively pulled her off him.

"Why are you so late?" She asked with a concerned face and cupped his face on his head. His thoughts drifted back about the way Calypso's behavior with him in the recent days. She was really a nice girl and he didn't want to hurt her feelings if what he assumed about her was true.

"Done PDA-ing?" Thalia asked with a smirk on her face.

Percy just rolled his eyes but he could see Calypso blush.

"Where the heck is my Nachos? I would die out of starvation if you don't hand it over to me now!" Nico cried.

"I just forgot bringing Nico's Nachos while coming back so I again went there. I think I forgot the direction and by mistake got near to the CIA branch. I quickly started running back when I bumped into a girl and dropped her belongings. When I helped her pick up her things, I noticed this" Percy removed the envelope from his pocket showing it to the rest of them

"544?" Thalia whisper/shouted.

"Yeah, wanna see what's inside?" Percy asked with a mischievous grin and started walking to the dining table.

They all went behind him and seated themselves on other chairs while Percy put the envelope on the table and started ripping its top. He took the white colored paper and placed it at the centre of the table so that everyone could see.

Percy started reading the page

" _ **Name:**_ _Annabeth Chase_

 _ **Age:**_ _23_

 _ **Position: Classified special agent (Senior)**_

 _ **Branch: Manhattan**_

 _ **Mission: HFR8498G74**_

 _ **Description:**_ _America's Top Criminal group i.e. the illusionists consisting of Thalia Grace, Calypso Greaves, Nico Di'Angelo and fourth unknown member are suspected for targeting 'The Hydra' which would be transferred from the museum of fine arts located in Boston to the Connors centre also located in Boston where it would be auctioned. Your mission is to work on securing the Hydra painting and report any suspicious behavior which may lead to its theft. It is recommended to find strong evidence showing that the theft is possible in order to stop the auction before it takes place. Your task is to work as waitress in the Connors centre and study its security systems and with your co members i.e. Silena Beauregard and Rachel Elizabeth Dare. Though weaponries are also being provided for the mission for your own safety, it is advised to use only as last resort for your own or civilian's safety. You_ have _been given rights to shoot any illusionist member on sight._

 _ **Target Data:**_ _The mission consists of four targets thought the CIA sources have only been able to get data of three members only._

 ** _THALIA GRACE_**

 _APPEARANCE: Blue eyes and black hair_

 _RELATIONS: Daughter of Zeus Grace (Former CEO and founder of Grace airlines) and granddaughter of Kronos Grace (Founder and Chairperson of Kronos Inc.)_

 _OTHER DATA: none_

 _ **CALYPSO GREAVES**_

 _APPEARANCE: Almond eyes and caramel hair_

 _REALTIONS: none_

 _OTHER DATA: Highly expertise hacker and wide knowledge of computer technology and electronics._

 _ **NICO DI'ANGELO**_

 _APPEARNCE: Black hair and dull black eyes and excess dark circles._

 _REALTIONS: Son of Hades Di'Angelo, also one of the wanted terrorist who has his own criminal organization mainly working on illegal drugs and weaponries transportation._

 _OTHER DATA: none"_

He looked around the other three of them of were staring back at him in horror. Percy sighed and started speaking, being first to recover from the shock

"How did they know?" He asked.

"I think they most probably tapped the call and heard mine and Calypso's conversation." Nico said.

"But they think we are after the Painting" Thalia said.

"At least they are not completely correct" Calypso added in.

"We need to avoid them" Percy said "But we are not aborting the mission."

"So what would we do?" Nico asked.

"Hopefully, I have a plan" Percy said.

"What plan" The remaining of them asked in unison.

"Let's see" Percy said while taking the envelope in his hands and checking the contents again "They don't have any data for me. So, I think I would be the only one who would work in the Connor's centre."

"What about us?" Thalia asked.

"You would be working in another place which I would tell you afterwards after confirmation." Percy continued "And coincidentally the five of them would be travelling in the same flight as us."

"So let us go in another one, we can't risk to sticking with them"

"We have to, or else they would be suspicious and try to check the missing passengers if we cancel the ticket just a day before. So Thalia, give heavy makeup to Calypso and make sure no one would be able to identify her. And Nico, there is the fake job application which would probably have her phone number in it. Change your voice and threaten her, if she gets scared, she would probably back off"

He carefully read the application which he could easily identify as fake as they were used to making and using them. At last he found it at the bottom most line. He fingered it to Nico and handed it to him. He took out his smart phone and activated the speaker mode so that the others could also hear the conversation.

When the girl called Annabeth lifted the call, he cleared his throat and spoke "This is your last warning Annabeth Chase. You are opposing the Illusionists. Back off our way or you would face the consequences."

" _Who is this speaking? How do you know about…_ " A female voice asked.

Before she could complete her statement he ended the call.

"That was creepy voice, Nico!" Thalia said with a small smile on her face. Seeing her, others also smiled but Nico just smirked.

"Good job Nic, now we need to sleep. We have a dig day tomorrow. We need to start packing or weapons and clothes tomorrow.." He said and started heading to the bedroom when he felt someone grab him by his wrists.

He turned around to see Calypso smiling at him.

"What?" He asked slightly confused.

She ruffled his hair and said "Don't worry, we would succeed"

Even before Percy could tell anything else she pecked him on his cheek and went towards her room leaving Percy bewildered.


	3. WANTED PASSENGERS

**WANTED PASSENGER**

* * *

 _Heroes are never perfect, but they are brave, they are autenthic , they are courageos , they are determined , discreet and they have got grit._

 ** _\- Wade Davis_**

* * *

Annabeth groaned tiredly when she woke up by the load irritating sound of the alarm clock on the table beside her bed. She instinctively used her right hand to hit the button on the clock's top and the sound slowly subsided though the buzzing voice was still lingering in her ears. She slowly opened her eyes and started walking towards the bathroom and freshened up.

Despite of being summer, Annabeth took shower from hot water as it helped her think or that's what she thought. She dressed up herself as fast as possible and started packing her suitcase for night's journey. She had to carry two bags as they would be staying in Boston for a month. She organized her dresses neatly as per the requirements and stacked them up in her bag. She picked other things required for her mission which included silencer, the case containing the Glock and magazines that Luke gave her along with other important documents. She kept them aside at the corner of the bedroom and started walking downstairs to the hall where her mother was making pancakes for her.

"You woke up early in the morning today. Do you have some work?" Her mother asked while pouring a glass of milk in the kitchen.

"Yeah, some pending works have to be completed before leaving to Boston" Annabeth replied biting her tongue, completely regretting the fact that she lied to her (again).

She quickly drunk her glass of milk and ate her pancakes. After taking her handbag, she pecked her mother on cheek and started leaving for the offices. Annabeth was quite worried about how the other three would react when they saw her. It wouldn't be their fault if they got angry or dissapoinyed of her.

. . . . .

When Annabeth opened the door of the cabin in which she worked, she was welcomed by all other four fellow members who were also with her in the mission. Luke was leaning against the wall opposite to her while Charlie sat on her chair. Silena was whisper talking to Rachel who was furiously typing something in her laptop. She had as headphone on her head.

Luke was first to notice Annabeth when she entered the office.

"Hey Annabeth" he said with a reassuring smile. Other turned around to see her excluding Rachel who was still working on her laptop.

"hi guys…" She said still nervous about what to speak.

Charlie smiled "No apology required. Actually, you did a good job. Now as it's confirmed that they are behind the painting, our mission won't go waste."

Momentary violence ensued in the room as everyone we're deep thoughts about how to make progress in the mission.

"But, they are sending us only to confirm and find evidence to show whether they are up to the theft of the painting or not only. How can we possibly stop them? Don't you think we would require more back up. I mean they are the most wanted criminals in the country. Though we are also trained and specialized to deal these types of people, are we sure that we are capable to face them?" Silena asked.

"Are you questioning our capabilities?" Charlie objected.

"Look, if we ask for back up, Chiron would doubt us. If we tell him about the call that Annabeth received, he would just send the S.W.A.T. and increase the security of the painting. There primary objective is secure the painting, not catch the illusionists. If we know that they are after the hydra, we can secure it an catch the illusionists also. For us it would be win-win situation. We can't lose our only chance to catch them, right? I say let's do what we can do for the first two weeks. If we haven't made much progress or they have made much progress, then we can call for back up. In all of our envelopes, except for the owner's photo, no one else's picture is given. So, I think they would only know about Annabeth, not us. This means our mission is not completely sabotaged. I think Annabeth should stick with the job Chiron has given. The illusionists won't expect us to stick to the original plan as they have found out that we trying to catch them. This would increase the probability of catching them off guard." Luke said.

Everyone thought about it for a few seconds and nodded in agreement though Rachel was till busy in her laptop. Luke gave her a look and asked her "Have you been listening to our plan Rachel?"

"That's it. I knew it!" Rachel exclaimed.

"What?" Annabeth asked.

"All of you first listen to this voice"

She pressed a button on her laptop and it started playing a conversation between two people

 _-Do_ you _know the reason why he called us to Boston_ so _urgently?_

- _I thought you would be knowing, you are the ' Smarty pants' of the team, right?_

- _It's not the time to joke idiot, I think we have another task._

 _-What is it?_

- _I don't know, but I am sure I heard the name fine arts in Boston._

 _-Okay, now_ _I_ don't think _we should keep the conversation long, someone can tap our calls_

 _-Okay, when he contacts us back,_ _I_ _would ask him the meeting place_

"Now listen to this voice" Rachel said again and clicked another button.

 _-This is your last warning Annabeth Chase. You are opposing the Illusionists. Back off our way or you would face the consequences._

"Doesn't the voice of the male in both of the recordings I played sound a bit of familiar? It seems as if it was the same person who spoke in both of the recordings?" She asked.

"But still the second voice which threatened Annabeth is kind of gruff." Charles pointed,

"Yes, and that's why I installed a voice identification and matching application in my laptop."

Rachel did something on her laptop and turned it around the four of them. The screen read

-93% voice match found

"I trust this app. It is always accurate. If it has percentage reading more than 90%, it probably means the same person spoke in both the recordings."

"There are only two boys in the group, if the first guy, Percy is the leader, he won't be taking orders from anyone. Then the only other guy who is left is Nico Di'Angelo. I think he was the one who called you." Rachel spoke

Luke shook his head "We can't guess. There can also be other people working under them."

The whole room went silent for few minutes thinking for any solution. The door slowly creaked open and Chiron came in. "Oh, so you all are also here?"

"Yes Mr. Brunner, we were discussing about the final planning for the mission." Luke replied

"Any progress?"

"Yes sir"

"You need to complete formalities and sign few documents as the captain of this mission. So, you need to come to my cabin now"

"You go ahead sir. I would be at your cabin within few minutes."

Chiron nodded and exited the cabin.

"Okay guys, I need to go. I also have some work remaining after that, so I will only be able to catch up with you at the airport only. Bye." Luke said and went behind Chiron.

Other three of them also left one by one as they also had pending work leaving Annabeth alone.

. . . . .

"Hey Annabeth" Rachel greeted and sat on the empty chair beside her while Annabeth was enjoying her cup of latte in the inside the airport.

"Hey Rachel" Annabeth smiled.

"Why you came to the airport so early?"

"I actually didn't have any work left and you guys seem to be very much busy so I thought to come early."

Rachel waved behind to someone behind Annabeth. When she turned around, she saw Silena, Charles and Luke coming towards them. They sat on the remaining chairs of the table in which Annabeth was sitting.

"Are you all ready?" Luke asked with a nervous smile on his face.

All of them nodded in unison.

"So, our classified mission officially starts from now. Let's check in." He said.

. . . . .

"Annabeth, actually your plane ticket was also in the envelope which you lost. So I booked another ticket for you. But, the seats available weren't with us. So, we four would be sitting in the same row but you are few seats away from us." Luke said while handing her the fake passport.

"Yeah, that won't be a problem. Thanks Luke" Annabeth gave a small smile.

"Hey, no problem, what are friends for?"

They all started walking to the departure gate when Annabeth bumped into someone (Again).

"Oh, I am extremely sorry miss, I didn't look at you" He said after lifting his belongings that fell off his hand when he clashed into Annabeth. When she was able to see his face, she was awestruck by his handsomeness. He had perfectly tanned and muscular body and was having messy raven hair which matched to his face, making him look more attractive. But what was the most attention seeking thing on his face for Annabeth were his intense sea green eyes. When he got a clear look of her face, his eyes widened and he quickly turned into opposite direction and started walking towards another girl. When she took a glance at the girl, her face seemed to be vaguely familiar to Annabeth. Her hair was short and only reached till her neck. Through she also had black hair, Annabeth could easily tell it was dyed. She was wearing a pink colored hood which covered her forehead significantly through which her light blue colored eyes could be visible. Despite of having blue colored eyes, it had a tint of brown.

She turned towards Silena who was shaking her shoulder since few seconds.

"Are you all right?" She asked Annabeth.

"Yeah, I am fine." Annabeth replied.

"Oh come on, we know something isn't right. Love at first sight?"

"What! No!"

Silena started teasing her and blabbering her about how she started at him but then, Luke came close to Annabeth and whispered "Doesn't she look familiar?"

"Yeah, I think so. We aren't able to identify because she has a ton of makeup on her face. The hair is also not natural. Do you think we should keep a look on her?"

"Nah, I think we should stick to our mission. It is more important for now."

. . . . .

Annabeth was searching for her seat in the plane.

"Ma'am, your seat, D3, is the corner one beside the window in fourth row" The steward said to Annabeth pointing at a seat few feet from her.

"Thanks" She mumbled and sat on her seat. Everything was normal till the same sea green eyed boy came and sat beside her. As soon has their arms touched, she got a jolt of electric shock. Looking by the boy's face, Annabeth assumed that he might've also felt it. He looked around and hastily sat there.

"Cal-Cade, c'mon your seat his here" He said patting the empty seat beside her. The girl named Cade with light blue eyes and tentatively sat there. After a few minutes, the pilot spoke in through the speakers "Welcome to Grace Airlines, I am your co pilot Apollo. Please make yourself comfortable in the plane as we would be departing half an hour late because the air traffic control hasn't given us clearance yet. Unfortunately, food would only be available after takeoff. You can use internet for your devices until 20 minutes after which you have to switch it to flight mode."

Annabeth could hear a few groans from the passengers. From what Annabeth could see from corner of eye, the girl named Cade rested her head on the boy's shoulder. Must be a couple, she thought. But, the boy's posture stiffened on her touch.

"Where would we be staying in Boston?" She asked.

"I used to live there in a old house till father got transferred to Manhattan. We stayed with him in Manhattan. We tried to sell the property we owned in Boston but no one was buying it because it was on the city outskirts. It stayed there. We probably would be staying there until others would come. Then we would find a place near from the place where we I would work. Till that time, we would be living in the old house. We have to do a lot of cleaning" He replied emphasizing the word 'other'.

The girl, Cade was going to say something when the co pilot spoke in again "Hello again, this is your co pilot Apollo here. We have gotten the clearance few minutes early as the flight before us is late for approach. Switch off your devices or turn on its flight mode option. Buckle in your seatbelts as we would be ready for takeoff in a minute."

As he said, after a minute the plane was flying in the air. The boy must've been afraid of heights as he was clutching the girl's hand tightly while she was enjoying the moment. When the flight was completely in air, the boy sighed and let her hand go. Annabeth smiled when she saw the girl frown as soon as he stopped holding her hand.

When a few minutes passed, the boy removed blueprints of a building and started doing some calculations in it. After seeing him working, Annabeth remembered her own childhood when she used to study blueprints of big structures, dreaming to be an architect. When she got an admission known of the well known architecture institute in Atlanta, her father denied her for going there insisting her to join the criminal justice university in Florida following her father's footsteps. Despite of dreaming to be architect, she respected her father's decision and today she is a C.I.A. field agent with successful reputation.

She was carefully studying what he was doing. When she saw his calculation was wrong, she immediately said "You are doing wrong. The formula for finding the vertical clearance is not correct"

He, slightly taken aback by her quick approach nervously smiled and replied "I would appreciate if the lady doesn't mind to helping me"

Annabeth smiled and shot her had forward "Annabeth, Annabeth Chase"

Percy smiled back and shook her hand, much to Cade 's disappointment "Per-Pietro Johansson"

. . . . .

"You seem to be very much busy with that guy in the plane , weren't you?" Silena asked, wiggling her eyebrows once they reached Boston 's international airport.

"Oh, at least I wasn't making out with my boyfriend in the plane while I was going to Boston on a classified mission" Annabeth said when Charles coughed from behind.

The police at the exit checked all five of their airports very keenly. Annabeth 's heart started drumming quickly when he was taking much more time for checking her passport. He handed all the passports to the respective owner, gave a small smile and said "Welcome to Boston"


	4. MISSION BOSTON

**MISSION BOSTON**

* * *

 _Revenge is act if passion; vengeance of justice. Injuries are revenues; crimes are avenged._

 ** _\- Samuel johnson_**

* * *

This is the safe house for our mission" Percy said as he slowly opened the rusted metallic door which made very irritating noise when it slid open.

"Safe house or dust house?" Calypso asked and carefully started walking inside, making sure she won't slip on the dusty floor.

"Yeah, this used to be the place where I lived in the childhood." Percy said.

"But when I asked you in the plane, you said the safe house would be situated in the outskirts." She said.

"You know, when a C.I.A. agent sits beside you in the plane, it is better to feed wrong information to them."

"But she wasn't even listening."

"Oh you don't know about them. They are pretty smart fellows."

Calypso sighed "What to do now?"

Percy grinned "What is the first thing you do when you are going to stay in a place which is completely filled with dust and not in the condition living in?"

"Clean it?" She asked rather than saying.

"You are so smart"

"Oh gods, it's going to take a lot of time. Even Nico and Thalia aren't there to help us. They would be enjoying their trip when we would be working here" She said.

"Wait, what do you mean by enjoying their trip?"

"Oh come, they both like each other. That was understood a long time ago."

"What? Nico doesn't even like Thalia"

"Boys usually tend to be annoying with the girls they like"

"That doesn't even make any sense" Percy said as he handed a broom stick to Calypso and started cleaning the hall.

"Wait, our first priority is sleeping, so let's clean the bedroom. They both would be coming here by midnight so we will start cleaning the whole house in the morning. Let us not waste too much effort" She said.

"Ok, good idea" Percy said and they both started to head to the bedroom.

The room was completely filled with silence for few minutes as they were concentrating more on the cleaning process.

Percy, still not being understood by Calypso's words asked her "Why would a boy act annoying around the girl who he likes?"

She smiled "That is some kind of their tendency. You know, to gain attention or something like that."

"That really doesn't even make any sense. I mean, why would I try to annoy the girl whom I like?"

"Then how would you behave with the girl you like?" She asked with curiosity.

"I don't know, maybe behave nice with her?"

"Really?" She asked in a very happy tone. Percy always treated her nicely with respect. This was the last thing he needed to confirm that she liked him.

Percy shrugged to the question and started resuming.

"We need to dust the sofa and bed and also change the bed sheets" Percy said after they finished cleaning the floor.

"I will take the sofa." Calypso said.

After an hour of intense hard work, Percy and Calypso successfully finished cleaning the room.

"Thalia and Nico would be coming here after half an hour." Calypso said.

"Yeah, I will go to the restroom and wash my face" Percy said and started heading to the bathroom.

He took out a box of soap from his bag and went to the bathroom. He applied soap on his face and splashed some water. Percy slowly started thinking about Calypso again. He needed to tell her that he didn't have any feelings for her in the right way. But now wasn't the right time. Their first priority was to complete the mission without any interruptions. For him work came before his feelings.

He wiped his face with the towel and went out of the bathroom.

Calypso had already changed into her baggy nightdress. She was sitting cross legged on the bed and smiling on the screen of her phone.

"I told you" She said to him.

"Told me what?' He asked.

"They are a thing now!" She said.

"Who are what?"

"Nico and Thalia are. Nico asked her and she said yes. They also kissed, you know?" Calypso said.

"So are they official?" He asked.

"Of course they are!" She exclaimed.

"Nico didn't even tell me. That idiot." Percy grumbled to himself.

"You are so cute" Calypso whispered while eying him.

"What?" Percy asked.

"Nothing, I think we should go to bed" Calypso said and made the bed,

Apparently she thought he didn't hear him. And apparently, he clearly heard her. This was the final evidence which makes him hundred percent sure that she has a crush on him.

"I will take the couch. You can sleep on the bed." Percy said.

"No, you must be tired. You can sleep on the bed" Calypso insisted.

"It's okay cal. Take the bed. I am not sleeping anyway. I will wait for both of them till they come. I still have some unfinished business with Nico." Percy said while stifling his yawn which Calypso noticed.

She smiled and pecked him on his cheek. "I will wait for them. You are very tired. You must sleep."

Percy tentatively nodded and laid his body on the sofa and the deep sleep engulfed him within few seconds while the Calypso's lips still lingered on his cheek.

. . . . .

 _"_ _All of you hands up. Nobody will move from their places. If anybody tried to contact the police, the bullet from this Glock would smoothly go through your brains" Percy shouted while pointing his gun to one of the accountants in the bank he had just entered._

 _Percy could feel the adrenaline rush in his body along with the fast thumping heartbeat which was drumming in his chest. The sweat drenching from his forehead was stuck to the mask which was covering his face just leaving a torn portion in front of his eyes which let him see._

 _He chose the small private start up bank for the robbery due to its low security levels along with second hand black and white CCTV camera which didn't bring any difference. The bank wasn't famous but still had quite a lot amount of money stored which belonged to corrupt Governors who maintain low profile according to his research._

 _He slowly pointed another gun in his second hand to an old man who wore blue colored uniform signifying that he worked for the bank and said "Keys of the door for the second level lockers cabinet. Now!"_

 _With shivering hands, the old man opened the door of a wooden shelve above his table on which he was working and handed the metallic silver key to Percy._

 _"_ _You stay here; I will go inside and get the contents. Just stay away from the trouble" said another man with the mask standing beside him. His bright blue iris was visible from the torn out portion of the mask._

 _Percy nodded and gave the keys to the guy. He quickly went inside one of the doors that would be leading to the lockers room. Percy impatiently waited for him, while turning around and taking three sixty degree moves looking for any suspicious behavior of the civilians._

 _After few minutes, the blue eyed guy returned from the door with a two large sized completely filled sacs just like what the Santa clause uses to carry the gifts. The guys nodded and they started heading for exit, with their eyes still giving keen observation seven to eight polices for suspicious behavior._

 _But, as soon as they opened the door they were met by the red and blue flashing lights and White colored cars with NYPD boldly written on them along with seven to eight polices that were pointing their guns towards Percy. But, the someone else more important caught his attention In this dangerous situation was an old man in his mid 40's in thick blackish brown hair covering his head and dense beard overlapping his chin who was also holding a gun pointing towards him was all Percy was looking at._

 _"_ _Poseidon…." The guy silently muttered._

Percy sat bolt upright on his bed, sweat trickling down from the corner of his forehead. He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples before laying himself down on the bed again.

He tried to sleep, forcing himself to relax, but he wasn't able to. He looked around the room but Calypso was nowhere to be seen. Percy sighed and started walking to the bathroom to freshen up. Drowsily brushing his teeth, he glanced at his hair on the mirror which was looking like a rat's nest. He tried to push it down but it wasn't ready to listen to its owner. No use.

He wiped his face and started to the hall. He expected only to find Calypso in there as she was only an early riser but instead Nico and Thalia were also present and they were seriously talking about Calypso and Percy's plane trip.

Calypso was the first to notice him and greeted "Good morning Perce!"

"Hey, good morning Cal" He said.

Both of the heads turned around and saw Percy.

"Percy, we need to talk" Nico said.

"Oh, so do I" Percy said and sat on a chair of dining table beside Thalia.

"First me" Nico said quickly.

Percy sighed "Ok"

"Dude, you sat beside a CIA agent who is trying to catch you!" Nico said.

"Yeah" Percy said.

"And she helped you in structure calculations of the building in which she is sent to stop us"

"Yeah, so what?"

"Dude, that is wicked!"

"Nobody is wicked; indeed she is a nice girl"

"Come on, that was a bad joke"

"When the hell did I joke!"

Nico rolled his eyes "You are no fun"

"So, are you trying to forget to tell me about something?" Percy asked while raising his eyebrow

Both Nico and Thalia blushed at the same time.

"Believe me Thalia, in our friendship of seven years, I swear this is the first time I have seen you blush" Percy said.

"Shut up" Thalia said without meeting Percy's eyes.

"Oh come on, why to ask if you already know?" Nico said.

Percy chuckled "Your life, your decisions, but I want assurance that this think won't come in between us and our mission's success"

"Yeah" They both said giving nervous glances to each other.

"Breakfast is ready" Calypso said as she brought four plates consisting of bacon and egg.

"Awesome, I was only in the mood of eating them" Thalia said.

Percy looked around the house which now looked neat and tidy.

"You guys cleaned the house already?" Percy asked.

"Yeah, Calypso tried to wake you up but you weren't even ready to move an inch away from your sofa. She told you needed rest so we all cleaned the house." Nico said.

"So, where you guys slept?' Percy asked.

"In the second bedroom" Nico replied.

"There isn't any sofa in the second bedroom" Percy said.

"Yeah, so?"

"That means you both slept on the same bed!" Percy exclaimed.

They both blushed crimson and it was the second time in the life Percy saw Thalia blush.

"Percy! You should not say things like that." Calypso scolded while stifling her own smile and served the food for him.

"I can serve myself cal, it's alright" Percy said.

"It's okay Perce" Calypso said while running her hand through his hair. She brushed I some of his bangs off his forehead and brought some of the stray hair down.

"There, now you look good" Calypso said and sat down on the chair exactly beside Percy.

Percy brought his hand to his head and felt that his hair had been indeed been brought down. But when he tried the same thing in the bathroom, it hadn't worked. Maybe only Calypso knew how to tame his hair.

Percy turned around and saw Thalia and Nico smirking at him and Calypso

"What?" Percy asked.

They both shook their head and resumed eating their breakfast but the smug on their face was still there much to Percy's annoyance. He had to talk to Calypso soon.

"So, the girl helped you in the calculations." Nico said again.

"Yeah" Percy said.

"Did she introduce herself with the real name?" He asked.

"Nah, she said her name was Annabelle Collins" Percy said.

"And what is her original name?" Nico asked.

"Annabeth, Annabeth Chase" Percy said.

"Were you able to identify the other members who are involved with her in the mission?"

"Oh, don't worry about that, one of the members is an old enemy of mine from my college days" Percy said.

"What is his name?" Thalia asked.

"Luke Castellan" Percy replied with venom stitched in his voice.


	5. SECOND MEET

**SECOND MEET**

 _Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe._

\- **_Frederick Douglass_**

"Annabeth, this is your fake job application. Try not to spill juice on the customers." Luke joked while handing her the papers.

"I will try. By the way, I am eager to look at you at you watchman uniform" Annabeth said while smiling.

"Didn't Mr. Brunner get any other appropriate job for us other than watchman?" Beckendorf asked to himself.

"You would look so cute in the uniform Charlie" Silena literally squeaked and pecked his cheek.

"Can you both just forget for some time that you are dating? I can't bear seeing you both doing all PDA while we are trying to catch America's most wanted criminal group." Rachel said.

"Oh, please don't remind me that again and again" Luke said while loading the magazines into the Glock.

"One of the perks of being the watchman is they let you carry guns with you." Beckendorf said.

"Why you both boys are always behind the guns?" Rachel asked.

"Oh come on, we have just been sent here to find evidences that Illusionists are really behind the painting. They should have hired detectives for the nasty job. But we still have the license to shoot the thugs on sight. What's the fun? Do you know how awful I feel when I reply to my nephew that I only use it when higher authority gives me permission which probably means twice in six months when he asks me how often do I use my gun? "

"The illusionists aren't thugs Beck" Annabeth said.

"It has been 3 years since I got this job and I still don't understand the difference between thieves, thugs and dacoits." Beckendorf said.

"From where in the hell did the dacoits from?" Rachel asked in exasperated voice.

"The conversation of requesting Beck and Silena not doing publicly display affection reached to the ending which had involvement of Dacoits in it." Luke said smiling, while checking his passport.

"We could collaborate and make a film based on this story you know. Two inseparable lovers and a group of dacoits trying to keep them apart." Silena said dreamily.

"You don't sound like a CIA agent at all." Luke said.

"Stereotypical" Annabeth said and rolled her eyes.

Beckendorf snickered "The story is worse than Romeo and Juliet."

"Hey, when the hell did Romeo and Juliet became worse" Silena asked.

"You guys are completely hopeless" Rachel muttered.

"I think we are forgetting that we aren't a group of teenagers who came here to chill in Boston rather than trying to catch a group of dangerous thugs-"

"-Thieves" Annabeth corrected.

"What in the hell is difference between thugs and thieves!" Luke said in an irritated voice.

"I thought Luke, Annabeth and I were only the mature ones here. But guess I was wrong. This leaves us to only me and Annabeth"

"it is Annabeth and I, not me and Annabeth" Annabeth corrected.

"How can not knowing the difference between Thieves and thugs lead to the judgment of a person's maturity?" Beckendorf asked.

Everyone groaned in unison except Beckendorf.

"it is getting late for the interview now. Rachel, Annabeth and Silena, you three of should leave now. They will just ask you some simple question and will join you for sure. For now all you have to do is look out for any suspicious behavior in your zone regardless it is related to illusionists or not." Luke said.

He went to his bag and removed three small black colored balls with small pin attached to its bottom. He handed each of them to girls.

"These are specially modified spy camera designed for this mission." Luke explained "All you have to do is press the grey button on the top and make sure the lens in front is completely exposed while you attach it under you collar with the pin provided. There are total of five of them with me. The remaining two will be used by me and Beck. We can also use them to communicate with each other. These things don't have high storage capacity so after every two hours of video recording, the footage would be transferred to my laptop through Bluetooth and it would be self-destructed in the camera's memory."

"What do you call'em?" Beckendorf asked.

"Don't ask me" Luke said.

"Camera balls?" Beckendorf said.

"You are really hopeless" Rachel muttered and slung her handbag over her shoulder.

"Let's go girls" Silena said.

. . . . .

"And this is the place you would be working in" Said the old man who took the interview of Annabeth. He called himself Mr. D and suggested the three of them also to only call them by the same name. When she first saw him, his facial features looked so like a baby despite of being in his near 50's made Annabeth mistake him for a cherub. Anyone who would take a glance at him would probably assume he had overloaded his liver with vodka which gave him red puffy eyes and purple tip of nose.

Being the five star hotel in which they were now working in, the admission staff had taken proper tests from simple cooking to fast serving. As they only needed one waiter more for the job, they placed Annabeth in cooking instead along with Silena.

Annabeth glanced around the kitchen where she would be working after five minutes. People wearing long white colored shirts and toque Blanche rushing around carrying various types of food, steam rushing out of large sized cookers, chefs yelling at each other with various recipe names, occasional eruption of large flames from the stove. Just a typical kitchen for a five start hotel.

"That guy also joined few hours ago. But he is still learning fast. You should probably socialize with him while you are on work." He said while pointing to a familiar raven haired boy. He was turned opposite to them so his face wasn't visible at all. But from judging his exceptional Physique and perfectly tanned skin, this structure only reminded Annabeth of one and only one person. Paul Johansson.

"Hey Annabeth, looks like your airport love is not going to leave you." Silena whispered in Annabeth's ear.

"Shut up" Annabeth said too loud for Mr. D to also hear that.

"Sorry miss?" He asked.

"It's nothing sir, sorry for interrupting." Annabeth said.

"Yeah, so as I was saying, your working hours would start from 9 am to 11 pm. Your uniforms are in the left cabinet beside the ladies washroom. You have to change into them and start working now. We are short on starters making column." Mr. D said and started walking away.

Annabeth sighed while Silena giggled and Rachel rolled her eyes.

Before reaching the door, Mr. D turned around and yelled "When I mean socialize, I mean only socialize. I don't care about your dating history but remember that I don't tolerate flirting in the working hours. I saw two girls who have asked him out on the first day itself."

"That was for you, Annabeth. Looks like you are not the first in the line" Silena whispered in Annabeth's

"That was mean" Rachel said.

. . . . .

"The uniform sucks" was the comment from Rachel when she first wore it.

"Your uniform just sucks Rachel, but our uniform sucks the spitted thing which was sucked by your uniform." Silena said while staring at the mirror and frowning at herself.

"What the hell did you just say?" Annabeth asked.

"Don't ruin your life by understanding it Annabeth." Rachel said "Anyways, I need to go now. And by the way, I saw this guy's face Annabeth. Nice choice"

"Not you too Rachel!" Annabeth exclaimed.

"Looks like fate isn't with you Annie" Silena said.

"Don't call me Annie" Annabeth glared.

"Alright Annabelle Collins, I think we should start our task"

"Ok Stephanie Bennett"

And they both started walking to the same section where Paul was working. His eyebrows were scrunched while he was intently focusing on cutting the carrots into the tiniest bits that Annabeth had ever seen.

Annabeth lightly coughed and Paul turned around to see her. Those green eyes, she could probably take her time and continue staring at those beautiful sea green irises if it weren't for the smirk plastered on Silena's face.

"Hey Annabelle!" Paul's face broke into a smile when he saw Annabeth.

"Hey Paul" Annabeth said trying not look to enthused in front of Silena "Paul, meet Stephanie, my close friend"

"Hey Stephanie, nice to meet you" Paul said they both shook hands.

"So, Annabelle can you cut these capsicums into small pieces and marinate the meat piece?"

. . . . .

"Ok Annie, I think I should leave now." Silena said as she slung her bag over her shoulder.

"Wait, I am also coming. I would just take a couple of more minutes." Annabeth said while quickly cutting vegetables.

"Yeah, I can feel your pain. The people who come to this hotel are very lazy. They want the pieces of vegetables in this salad cut into very small pieces." Silena said.

"Yeah, this job sucks more than the uniform. I would have preferred the job of watchman" Annabeth said.

" _Watchwoman"_ Silena corrected.

"Whatever" Annabeth said and rolled her eyes.

"Hey, look I and Rachel are leaving. You are too dedicated in your job. I am afraid you will cut your fingers in the hurry. Take your time and complete your work slowly. No hurry." Silena said.

Annabeth sighed "All right"

From the window of the second floor, She saw Rachel standing near the gate, probably waiting for her and Silena. She looked around and saw people slowly leaving and the kitchen getting emptier minute by minute

Only a few last customers were waiting who were left to be served. And one of them demanded a large sized Russian salad for which Annabeth had to cut the vegetables.

"Need any help?" Someone asked from behind

Annabeth turned around to see Paul coming to her while wiping his hands on a napkin.

"I would be the most grateful person if someone helped me cut these damn vegetables." She said.

"Someone sounds frustrated" Paul said and grabbed a long knife from the array of cutlery hung on the wall. He quickly started cutting the slices of pineapples into much smaller uneven pieces. It could be clearly seen he was not expertise in this skill but was doing great.

(Ten minutes later)

"….And we have to just mix the mayonnaise and slight tone of milk in it and it's ready." Percy said while mixing the contents in a large spoon quickly after adding milk and mayonnaise.

"Thanks. I didn't even have a slightest of idea of how to make this salad. I just thought we have to cut the veggies and mix them all at once" Annabeth said.

Paul lightly laughed at her. He looked cute when laughed.

"Believe me, this was the first thing I did when I joined here. The customers said my russian salad tasted like veggies dropped in milk. The pudgy sober scolded me and guess I learned my lesson"

"Pudgy sober?" Annabeth asked.

"Yeah, the one who took both of our interviews, what was his name again, Mr. B?"

"It's Mr. D!" Annabeth giggled (When the hell did she started giggling?)

"Whatever" Percy said "I think we should get changed"

"Yeah" Annabeth said and walked to the changing room. She stripped herself and changed into the tank top and tattered jeans. This eye candy was going to make things difficult for Annabeth.

When Annabeth came out of the room, she saw Percy waiting for her at the exit. He was wearing grey colored Nike shirt and black hoody along with ankle length jeans of the same color. He dug his hands into his jeans' pockets and was staring at the window.

"You ready?" Paul asked Annabeth when he saw her.

"Yeah" She said and they both started walking out.

"Are you alone?" Paul asked.

"Yeah" Annabeth said.

"What about the other two friends of yours?"

"They completed their work early so they went home."

"Hmmm"

"Wait, you said two friends, did you meet Rachel?"

"No….."

"Then?"

"I saw Stephanie waiting for a ginger. I assumed she must me your friend as she is also that girl's friend."

Good observation skills for an average person, Annabeth thought.

"I have to take right" Annabeth said once they reached the dead end.

Percy glanced at his watch.

"It late night" Percy said "I will walk you home"

"Ok" Annabeth said and they walked into the dark lonely lane only with quite a few street lights illuminating their path while enjoying the quality time she got to spend with him.


End file.
